Dragon Ball: Shinki Itten
by animegrrrl
Summary: A story where Piccolo and Ayla have their wedding and honeymoon.


DRAGONBALL: SHINKI ITTEN

PART 7 - The Fight of Our Lives - Past, Present, and Future

Chapter 7 - Piccolo Says "Yes."

by ma_junior117 aka Vegeta Daimoh

"Mmhn." Ayla looked up, alerted by the stirring noises of Piccolo waking on the bed. He opened his eyes.

"Oh Piccolo! You're awake! How are you feeling?" Piccolo drew back the covers and sat up. Rubbing his stiff neck, the Namek grunted grumpily.

"Hey, I asked you a question."

Picccolo sighed and scrunched up his face in all seriousness, making sure Ayla's full attention was upon him. "Yes." he announced.

Ayla blinked. "Yes? Yes what?"

Piccolo rolled his eyes. Kami, did he really have to explain it to her? "Yes, I'll marry you."

"....."

"....."

"....."

"Ayla?"

"You asshole!" Piccolo was shocked. Why did she call him that?

"What's your problem? Did I say something wrong?"

"Yes! You shouldn't have said that."

"Why?"

"Because. Don't kid me like that." Piccolo stood up. Ayla wiped a sleeve across her face. "It's just a speck in my eye." she muttered lamely. Piccolo touched her cheek. She angrily jerked her head away.

"Ayla." The Saiyan went to stand up. Piccolo pushed her back down. "Listen to me! I'm not kidding you." Just for her benefit he slowly repeated the sentence. "I'm not. Kidding you." Piccolo felt Ayla's shoulders stiffen underneath his hands.

"Really?" she asked in a small voice.

"Really." Ayla looked up quickly beneath a mass of spiky hair. Then her face was hidden again. Piccolo felt something in his chest strangely tighten. Ayla had flashed him a small, shy, and brilliant smile. She tucked a strand of hair behind her right ear.

"So," continued Ayla, like the previous conversation had never existed, "I see you're awake. How are you feeling?"

"Why do you keep asking me that question?"

"Because I'm concerned about you. It can't be too healthy to play with a Supersaiyan 4."

"You call that playing?" he muttered. "Anyway," Piccolo answered, "I'm fine. Dende's healing and Corin's Senzus did the trick. I'm as good as new."

"GREAT!" Piccolo reeled in shock. Before he knew what was happening Ayla jumped up and had her arms and legs possessively wrapped around the trunk of his body. The woman giggled madly.

"What...?"

"THIS MEANS WE CAN GET MARRIED AS SOON AS POSSIBLE!! WOO! HA HA HA HA!"

"Ahem."

Piccolo tore his face away from the kisses Ayla was raining down upon him. "Dende! What are you doing here?!"

If possible, the Guardian had an even larger amount of sweat drops than Piccolo hanging from his head. "I came to check up on you."

Ayla dropped her vise-like embrace and ran up to Dende. "GUESS WHAT?! I'M GETTING MARRIED!!! WOOOOOO!!!!" Ayla lifted the Guardian off his feet and swung him around. (Which was an interesting feat, considering how much taller he was than her.) Ayla planted a loud smacker on his cheek then skipped out the door.

The two Namekians stared after her in a speechless stupor.

*****

Three days later everyone was done with preparations. Piccolo had asked Gohan to be his best man and Zoey was Ayla's bridesmaid. Ame, Mark, and Mr. Popo were the wedding guests. Akane and Akira were there as well, but were much too small to know what was going on. Akane sat on Ame's lap while Akira was held in Mr. Popo's gentle arms. Dende-sama would be the one to marry them. It was a small and simple ceremony. Piccolo and Ayla wouldn't have it any other way.

Gohan was nervously fussing with Piccolo's tie when Corin and a really old(but just as obnoxious) Yajirobe showed up. "'Ey, yo! Where's the Saiyan chick? I wanna see her in a dress!" Piccolo raised an eye ridge at his behavior.

Zoey snickered. "Relax, Piccolo. It wouldn't be a normal wedding if at least one uninvited guest didn't show up."

Gohan laughed. "You got that right."

"Whatever." the Namek replied. "He can stay just as long as he shuts up." Piccolo addressed his best man. "You got them?"

Gohan reached into his pocket and proudly held up the precious contents. "Yup." he grinned. Piccolo 'hmmphed' in relief and was glad that he had remembered to include such a detail.

"You can put them away now."

"Why? You don't want to look at them anymore?"

"No, I think I'm going to meditate a bit before the ceremony starts."

"Ten minutes before the wedding?"

"Yes, Gohan, ten minutes from the wedding."

"Alright." shrugged Gohan. "But all the meditating in world isn't going to save you."

"Scoundrel." Piccolo took a swipe at his former pupil but Gohan had already danced away out of his reach. The precious contents they were talking about were Ayla and Piccolo's wedding rings. Gohan had helped Piccolo purchase them. He even helped Piccolo pick out a saying to put on Ayla's band. The Namek wasn't one to wax poetic, but he felt that the words inscribed on her ring expressed perfectly what he felt for Ayla, and what he promised in their future marriage... even if where he got the idea was rather embarrassing... He mentally made a note to never let anyone know how it had been inspired.* Briefly, he was curious about what the inscription said on Ayla's, but he knew if he asked, Gohan would only laugh and make some stupid comment about bad luck. Piccolo quelled the emotion. He would find out soon enough.

*****

"Love you." said Ayla, as she chastely kissed her newly confirmed husband before her. Various catcalls and cheers were heard from the audience. Dende grinned beatifically, proud of his first wedding that he ever performed and the role he had in creating the beautiful marriage vows spoken this day. They weren't exactly traditional, originating from any Earth-born culture. Instead, they were adapted from the Namekian joining of soul mates. When a Namek feels the need to become a father, often best friends move in together and vow to raise each other's children as they're own. It was to everyone's mutual benefit to have two parents instead of one. So shortly after the ceremony, the newlyweds planned to fly off. The couple stuck around only long enough for the wedding guests to congratulate them. Ayla got hugs and kisses from everybody and Piccolo mostly got handshakes. Ame and Zoey were the only ones who dared to embrace him.

Yajirobe started to complain. "What! That's it?" They're not gonna stick around? Man, I thought we were gonna party!"

"Actually," said Mr. Popo, "we are. There's quite a lot of food here to enjoy. Ayla and Piccolo are just eager for each other's company, that's all."

"Oh." snickered the dirty-minded Yajirobe. Corin hit him upside the head.

Once up in the air and a safe distance away from Kami's Lookout, Piccolo used a ki technique to change into his usual, and comfortable, fighting clothes. At Ayla's request, Piccolo did the same for her. She didn't fancy flying in a dress. After that there was no conversation. They continued for a few hours to fly in the same direction. Piccolo and Ayla kept trying to look straight ahead but would steal glances at each other every once in a while. Finally Ayla broke the silence. "I can't believe it! I'm- married, to you!"

Piccolo mimicked back in the same awed but amused tone. "You- married, to me!"

"Pfft. Well that's no surprise, but... I'm so used to you pushing me away..." Ayla looked down and black hair flopped into her face. After a moment, Piccolo hesitantly reached out and tucked the strands behind her ear. Ayla slowed down and stopped to look at him. "But you know what this means?" she said quietly. Piccolo quirked an antennae. Ayla got a maniacal grin. "I get to hug you all I want and you can't do anything about it!!" And Piccolo was conclusively glomped. He sweat-dropped but brought his arms up and wrapped them about her anyway. Ayla's muffled, but pouty voice came from the ruffled folds around his neck. "I can't feel your muscles with this thing on."

Piccolo snorted. "So, you like feeling my muscles."

"Uh-huh." nodded Ayla unabashed. Picccolo held her to one side and with the other arm threw off his cape and weights. Ayla wrapped her arms around his shoulders and buried her face into his warm neck. "Mmmm." she hummed happily. "Wait a minute," Ayla opened her eyes and pushed back a bit to look at him. "What kind of former guardian are you?" she asked indignantly. "You just polluted, dumping that into the ocean."

Pic looked at her calmly. "It didn't land in the ocean. I dropped it on the island."

"How...?"

"We're here."

Ayla spun around. "No way!" she said, spotting the island. The couple dropped down next to Piccolo's discarded weights and Ayla giggled. "Man, look at the size of that thing!" Piccolo smirked, more amused by her behavior than anything. Three hundred pounds of weight being dropped from about 1000 ft. up in the air created quite a dent in the sand. Ayla darted into the cabin, all satisfied to find a fully operating fridge completely stocked. But she wasn't really hungry right now... odd for a Saiyan and even odder with her namesake. Ayla walked to the doorway and faced the inside of the cabin to survey it. From here she could see everything. What was once nothing more than a shack used to entertain three little teenagers had been turned into a tiny but cute cabin by the seaside. As part of the preparations, Zoey had rigged wiring throughout the place, enough for a Saiyan-sized fridge, and added more lights to the front room, bathroom, and bedroom. The windows now even had nice bamboo shades over them! Ayla sighed happily. It was most definitely sufficient enough for a honeymoon. Ayla went to take a step backward and came up against a warm, muscular wall. She turned around to find Piccolo looking down at her.

"So... what should we do." he questioned. Ayla was very aware of the close proximity of the tall Namek looming above her and the cabin door behind her, as the constant sound of waves crashed in the background.

Ayla gulped, suddenly feeling very nervous. "Oh man, stuck b/w a cabin and a hard Namek." she thought. (A/N: And no, she didn't mean anything dirty by that! It's a takeoff of that old saying "Stuck between a rock and a hard place.") Desperation struck her. "I know! We could go swimming!"

Piccolo frowned. "We don't have any bathing suits."

"So," said Ayla, squeezing out and around Piccolo, "you could zap up some." Seeing his frown turn into a scowl, Ayla shrugged appeasingly. "Or you could just zap me one and keep your pants on." Piccolo sighed and did as he was told. They slid into the water. Ayla kicked her feet and swum around, delightedly looking at strange corals and fish. A silver flash caught her eye. She darted after it, only to have a thousand tiny silver fish explode and swirl around her. Confused and startled, she let the school go and reform some distance behind.

Piccolo. The chase had led her some 30 feet away from her husband. He was just on the opposite side of the seaweed patch between them, his back facing her. Ayla got an idea. She slid through the seaweed. Carefully repressing her energy, Ayla snuck up and playfully shoved Piccolo. The Namek whirled around to retaliate but only ended up slashing seaweed instead. He dove in after her. Swimming was difficult, neither Namek nor Saiyan could see in the thick vegetation, only a faint lightening in the murky darkness showed which way was up. Piccolo and Ayla waded through the seaweed looking for each other. Ayla cursed her luck; with Piccolo's coloring it would be almost impossible to spot him. Ayla jerked in surprise. Something had grabbed her ankle- Ah, it was only a tendril of seaweed. Ayla unwrapped it from her ankle and mentally sighed in relief, only to have her eyes widen in surprise as a green and pink Namekian arm shot past way too close to her head. "Piccolo must be using his arms to search for me blindly, hoping to come across me in this seaweed." she thought. The Saiyan backpedaled to change her position. Ayla felt herself come across something solid; she put her hand out to support herself- and felt shocking pain as a sea creature's spiky hide pricked her hand.

She screamed. The air came bubbling out of her mouth as she choked on sea water. Her body jerked as she fought to hold in her breath and cough at the same. Piccolo's arm came spiraling past her again. Gathering enough presence of mind to collect some ki, she burst out of the water and took the air in at great, gulping gasps. Even though a healthy Saiyan, a near death experience would exhaust any person; she dropped to the beach feeling like a drowned rat. Piccolo's extended arm shot out and caught her. Ayla shrieked and got pulled back against him. Piccolo's other arm latched on to secure. Ayla twisted wildly, causing them both to fall to the ground with Piccolo on top. The newly married couple looked at each other and grew still, suddenly realizing the awkward position they were in. With Piccolo's heavier weight, Ayla understood that she was effectively pinned down. She flushed and muttered uncomfortably. Something about her wishing that she was a guy.

"Can you even imagine yourself as a guy?" Piccolo disdainfully asked.

"Sure, I'd look just like Vegeta."

"Can you imagine me as a girl."

Ayla thought about it for a second then answered. "Yeah, but... bleagh."

"So you prefer me male."

"Of course, you make a great guy!"

"I think you make a great girl."

"But-"

"No buts. If I had to get used to being male then you have to get used to being female."

"Well," Ayla couldn't argue against that logic, "I guess it's only fair."

Piccolo shifted his weight.

The cold touch of his pants, the hot lips on her neck.

Ayla gasped and shuddered. Memories flooded back, bringing into her the pain of the Demon King, Piccolo's father. Being pinned like this made her think of how he hurt her, twisted her, and made her like it. She started to shiver violently. Piccolo backed off.

"Ayla." he said in dismay. Piccolo watched her lying there, eyes scrunched up and shivering. Was this his fearless Saiyan, the one that took on the world and him and won? Piccolo gently sat her up. "I know what you're thinking." Ayla turned away in shame, but Piccolo cupped the sides of her face and forced her to look at him. "Ayla, don't be afraid." he urged. "I'm not him."

Ayla searched his eyes, and whatever she saw, in those black depths... it wasn't Hell. "No," she whispered, "you could never be him. Aishetaru, Piccolo-san."

Piccolo leaned down and kissed her solemnly. "I know."

THE END

Well, it isn't the end but it will be if you don't email me and tell me to continue. I have much, much more planned but it's only worth it if I have an audience. So, send some comments my way, onegai? Else I'll just focus on writing original stuff instead. And don't bother asking for a making love/hentai scene. I think they deserve a little privacy on their wedding night, don't you?

Aishetaru. - I love you.

onegai - please.

*Ha! Piccolo may have sworn from telling anyone, but that doesn't stop me!

"Here, hold this." said Gohan to Piccolo, handing the Namek a white pencil while Gohan tried to juggle with his calculator and the potential(ly expensive!) rings in his hands at the same time. Piccolo took the pencil and absentmindedly toyed with it. He really appreciated Gohan taking out a loan for him to pay for the rings. Normally Piccolo would've never put up with such a thing, but it was Gohan's idea. Gohan smiled as Piccolo protested; he merely waved him off and said "What are good friends for?" Piccolo finally accepted when Gohan agreed to let his old mentor pay him back. Piccolo didn't like to be in anyone's debt, even Gohan's, and swore that someday he would find a way to pay him in full.

The memory of his vow made Piccolo's fist clench. He looked down in startlement when a loud snap indicated the state of the now broken pencil in his hand. He snuck a glance at Gohan, who was busy punching buttons. Maybe if Piccolo put the pieces together, Gohan would never notice... The Namek picked up the two pieces, one in each hand, and scrutinized the writing utensil closely.

"There, all done." Gohan straightened up in satisfaction. He turned around. "Now, about the rings... What do you want to say on yours?" Piccolo blinked and held up the sort of put together pencil before him. "Piccolo-"

"Look closer. At the writing." Gohan leaned in and squinted. It was kinda hard reading... The demi-Saiyan's eyes widened as he comprehended the meaning of the red letters on the pencil. "Piccolo! You want the Red Cross' motto for your wedding ring?!"

"Well, if it was changed a bit-" Piccolo looked deflated. "Do you think it's stupid?"

Gohan felt bad. "Well..." Out of guilt Gohan took a look at the pencil again. "Huh." A moment later, the Namek's former pupil looked up with a weird smile on his face, feeling like a total ass. "Piccolo... It's perfect."


End file.
